Cross Country Team Excels at State Meet and Beyond

A HUGE congratulations to the Monarch High School Cross Country team! Both the boys’ and girls’ teams qualified for the state meet in Colorado Springs on October 31. Each came away each with a sixth place finish in the 5A state meet.

The boys were represented by Isaac Green, Ben Hogan, Zach Litoff, Isaac Russo, Greg Hibl, Jack Herrmann, and Declan Stone Murphy. Charlie Perry, who turned in a stellar time during the regional qualifying race, was sidelined with an injury.

In the girls’ race, Audrey Lookner came in 17th place followed by Hailey Leader, Liz Hogan, Brooke Forsythe, Emily Hoffmann, Daisy Fuchs, and Alden Gruidel. The girls’ top runner, Holly Bent, was also sidelined for the big race.

The biggest highlight of the day was Isaac Green’s first cross country state title. Issac fought off a tough field to win the race in dramatic fashion. He and Jake Mitchem, a senior from Broomfield, were very close entering the stadium. Isaac’s surge to the finish line brought him his second state title in six months after winning the 1600 meter state championship last spring. Congratulations to Isaac who was also named to the All-State team!

Last, but not least, congratulations to Monarch High School’s own Cross Country coach, Laura Thweatt, who ran one of the best debuts ever by an American woman at the New York City Marathon. Thweatt was the fastest American this year and finishing seventh in 2:28:23. “It went surprisingly well,” Thweatt, 26, of Boulder, Colorado, said about her first marathon. Thweatt’s time is the seventh fastest by an American in New York.

The Cross Country team finishes their season on Saturday, November 21, at the Nike Southwest Regional Meet in Arizona. Go Coyotes!